Election officials often complain about the cost of special elections – especially when they’re not covered by policymakers – but recently some governors have been criticized for their decisions to cite cost as a reason to delay or skip them altogether.

The Department of Homeland Security and NBC News are sparring over a recent report about election hacking in 2016, with the network labeling it “breaking news” and DHS saying it’s not only misleading but old news from last summer.

Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Murray resigned last Friday in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against him. It’s a story with dimensions far beyond the elections world, but a vacancy in the state’s top elections job – for any reason – is not something that Wyoming welcomes in a statewide election year.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced yesterday that he is issuing an executive order to study the issue of vote-by-mail. Early voting will also be on the table, though both proposals will face partisan opposition in the legislature.

The ongoing struggle over the future of ranked choice voting in Maine (RCV) took another turn this week as voters apparently submitted enough signatures to not only put the question of RCV back in play but also to authorize its use in the June 2018 primary.

Empty checkboxes are creating some unexpected work for local election officials in Texas in the upcoming gubernatorial primary. It’s just the latest reminder that while candidates and election officials occupy roughly the same space in the lead-up to an election, their priorities and incentives are very different and can create surprises – and extra work and costs – for election officials.

Recounts have been a popular topic lately, both with close races in Virginia and the recent EAC blog series – and electionlineWeekly joins the fun with a guest post from Ada County (Boise), ID on “Five Rules for a Successful Recount”. It’s valuable advice in what’s likely to be a hard-fought election year; it makes sense for election officials to think about what they’ll do if and when the recount circus comes to town.

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